Mass Effect: Mercenary Trail
by Vault08
Summary: A young Garrus Vakarian on his first year at C-Sec is restless and craving action, sick of the desk work. However, when a botched assassination attempt on a store owner turns into a hostage situation, Garrus must act fast. Pre-ME-1. Please review!
1. Standard Routine

Garrus Vakarian ran a hand over his head, bored out of his mind. Another day of desk work at C-Sec was dulling his mind, day after day. The holographic computer screen in front of him taunted him with the unfinished day's report, though the motivation to complete it was simply not there. It was 2180, and Garrus had been with C-Sec for almost an entire year now, and seen exactly two firefights, one of which was against a drunk inside of a bar, refusing to leave after closing hours. His noncompliant nature called for C-Sec to arrive on the scene, and after a small "discussion" with the man, he brandished a pistol. Garrus took him out with a shot to the shoulder, and then hauled him to jail. Unfortunately, so far, that was the highlight of his C-Sec career.

It wasn't that Garrus wasn't grateful for his job, he was. He was just young and wanted to be out in the dark alleys where deals for red sand were taking place, or illegal weapons merchants were selling outlawed guns to over-eager bounty hunters or stupid teenagers. Sure, he had taken a few night patrolling jobs in more dangerous Citadel areas, but nothing ever came out of it.

Garrus yawned and then stood up, flicking a switch that caused the holo-screen to close. He couldn't finish the report right now, he needed some fresh air. As he was walking through the hallway of C-Sec Academy, occasionally glancing around at his co-workers, a thought crossed his mind. Perhaps he could request a promotion, or more patrol time? He shook his head. It was unlikely that any such request he would ask for would make it past Executor Pallin's e-mail without being deleted.

As Garrus stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air, his gaze wandered over a large portion of the Citadel. Wondering how many different crimes could be taking place at any of those locations, he shifted his position and leaned against the railing. A decent sized crowd of Salarians passed behind Garrus. He turned and looked at them for a moment, before sighing and returning to the view of the Citadel. His sight-seeing break was cut short as the door leading back into the Lower Wards slid open, and Executor Pallin emerged, a frustrated look on his face.

"Vakarian, Get your ass back in here, you've got a report to finish!" He shouted from across the walkway. It took Garrus a second, and then he turned to face Pallin. The Executor rarely yelled or cursed, only when someone of a lower rank was behaving out of line or disobeying a direct order. Garrus released the guard rail, and with a sigh, nodded and headed back into the Lower Wards, heading for C-Sec Academy.

A few hours later, Garrus had made his way over to the Combat Simulation Center. Currently ducked behind cover, observers could tell he was engaging in a virtual combat simulation. Clutching a sniper rifle in his hands, he slowly peeks over the hip-high cover he is currently hidden behind. A virtual human enemy compromised of millions of small blue digital blocks advances toward his positions with precise realism, wielding a pistol and firing a few shots in the turian's general direction. As the virtual human fires, he quickly begins for cover. Garrus pops out from his cover and in one swift movement glances down the sight of his rifle and fires, scoring a headshot. A buzzer plays over an intercom, and a digitized female's voice says, "Virtual Combat Session ended, all opposition has been eliminated. If you wish to have another go, say 'restart'."

Garrus stands up, and moves a hand up to hold the rifle at the barrel, walking away from the simulation course. As he exits the combat area, a long time friend of his, Chellick, appears. A smile plays over his face, and he gives Garrus a friendly nudge on the shoulder, revealing he had been viewing Garrus in the virtual combat simulation.

"Damn Garrus. You've topped the scores again with that run. Killed all ten enemies in just less than two minutes! You've gotta show me and the rest of the guys back at C-Sec how you became such a sharp shot!" Chellick requests with enthusiasm.

Garrus smiled a bit, before glancing at the ground, attempting to downplay his achievement. The truth was that he had always been an excellent shot, ever since his father took him shooting for the very first time when Garrus was only 7 years old. He surprised the hell out of his father with his quick aim and near dead-on accuracy, particularly with the snipers, or any scoped weapon. Garrus had favored range when combating enemies, as it felt it wasn't about how quickly you killed the enemy, but rather that each shot counted, and wasn't wasted.

"It's no big deal." Garrus said in a regular tone, though a small smirk still present on his face, hinting at just a bit of personal satisfaction from his score on the virtual combat simulation.

Chellick shook his head in disbelief that someone as good as Garrus would play down his score as "no big deal." Every Officer back at C-Sec wished they had Garrus's skill when it came to ranged weapons, though Garrus unfortunately hadn't seen a lot of action since joining C-Sec.

On his first day as a C-Sec Officer, Garrus had been quite nervous. Chellick had been working as a C-Sec officer for about 9 months when Garrus first joined, and had decided to introduce himself to the newest addition to the team. The two instantly hit it off with common interests and their obvious career choice. It wasn't until just recently that Chellick had learned Garrus had been a potential recruit for the spectres, before joining C-Sec. Chellick was amazed at this first, but was disappointed to hear that his father had completely blocked Garrus's shot at specialized training, and had urged Garrus to re-apply for the training, but Garrus dismissed his urges, despite his less-than-thrilled attitude about working a desk job for C-Sec most of the time.

As Garrus and Chellick walked along the walkway through an area populated with foliage vibrant in their green color, and relaxing fountains surrounding them, Garrus was once again lost in his own thought, causing an awkward silence in the conversation.

Chellick brought up his omni-tool, the orange hologram lighting up over his left forearm. This stole Garrus's attention, distracting him from his thoughts. Chellick brought up a small digital clock, and sighed.

"Ah. I better get home. Gotta get to bed early, I have to come in an hour early tomorrow, Pallin's really been riding me these past few weeks about crime reports in the wards. See you tomorrow, Garrus?" Chellick asked, turning his omni-tool off and cocking his head to face his friend, awaiting a response.

Garrus nodded. "Sure, of course." He said, the short response coming out more as a fact than an answer.

Chellick nods, and then turns to walk in the opposite direction. A few seconds pass, and then Chellick turns to face Garrus again. "Hey, Garrus, Wanna maybe grab something to drink after work tomorrow? It's Friday."

Garrus had never been one to go out to clubs or bars just to get out, but Chellick was a good friend to him, so he might as well go just to satisfy Chellick and then take the weekend for himself. After all, it wasn't like one night out would kill him.

Garrus chuckled a bit before responding. "Sure, why not?" He said, before waving to Chellick and continuing down the walkway, heading for his apartment a few miles from here. He'd likely grab something to eat on the way home. Besides, he wanted to focus on anything except tomorrow's inevitable day of sitting at a desk, typing away at another report.


	2. Hostages And Reports

Early the next morning, Garrus's omni-tool woke him up with the built-in alarm clock function. He sighed a bit, and rolled to the other side of his bed, not wanting to face the day yet. Still, he knew he had to. With a groan, he freed himself from the comfortable confines of his bed, and proceeded to face the day.

Since the Citadel was continuously bright with the artificial light, he was accustomed to sleeping with light shining through his windows. As such, facing the day wasn't the typical 'blinded by the morning light' ritual that was common in a lot of human novels and books.

Slowly making his way into the main area of his apartment, Garrus prepared for the day by putting on his C-Sec armor and boots, still not entirely awake yet. His apartment was tidy, and featured three computers visible in the main area. A spare omni-tool lay on a nearby glass table, and a large holo-screen currently in standby mode in the corner of his apartment, ready to accept any incoming video messages.

Garrus quickly had a small breakfast to kick start his day, and then headed for the door to his apartment. He picked up a datapad sitting on a counter as he exited his home. The datapad contained his unfinished report from the day prior, which Pallin had assigned him to take home and do. Garrus gave a small chuckle at the thought of how Pallin would react once he found out Garrus hadn't done it.

Sitting at his desk, Garrus had one hand typing slowly at his keyboard, the other propping his head up. Doing reports was never his strong point. After all, he was a C-Sec Officer, not a C-Sec writer, though this daily routine of coming it, sitting down, and typing away definitely made him feel more like the latter than the former. He leaned his head back and yawned, stealing a glance at the bottom-right of his computer screen. The clock taunted him, making each second passing by feel like a bigger stretch of time than the last.

Chellick walked up on Garrus, intending to ask him if they were still on for drinks after work. Garrus, mistakenly thinking Chellick was Pallin, quickly repositioned his hand that was propping his head up back to the keyboard, and began typing down several words to appear busy. Chellick tilted his head at this, and Garrus turned, only to give a small sigh in relief and turn around in his chair.

"Sorry about that. Thought you were Pallin, needed to look like I was actually finishing the report." Garrus said, leaning back in his chair. His legs were stiff, and he could use a walk. But the last time he left without informing Pallin, he got chewed out. It seemed like a turian couldn't eat, or even think, without a higher ranking officer studying their every move.

Chellick gave a small chuckle, and then moved to lean up against Garrus's desk. He was having an equally unproductive day, unable to finish a presentation on the ward's crime rate, and how it has decreased by 12% over the past five years thanks to C-Sec's enhanced monitoring of what comes in and out of the Citadel.

"Still on for tonight?" Chellick asked, straight forward, but in a hoping-he-says-yes tone. Though regardless if Garrus comes or not, he was planning on having a night filled with drinks, gambling, and asari dancers at Flux.

"Sure, I-" Garrus began.

Suddenly, Pallin came rushing through the door in a frenzy, a datapad in one hand and a pistol in the other.

"Garrus, Chellick! Hostage situation at Marov's Weapon Emporium! Some damn krogan mercenary has gone crazy, we need men on the scene ASAP and you two are the only on-duty Officers not on patrol in this area, let's move!" He shouted without taking a breath, but as soon as he was done he exited the room to leave Garrus and Chellick speechless.

However, neither of them were going to refuse a chance to get some action in. Garrus quickly turned off his computer, and proceeded with Chellick to the armory. They geared up rapidly, each taking a standard issue C-Sec pistol, two flash bang grenades, and an extra power pack for their shields. They both sprinted out of the armory and down the hallway, falling in line behind Pallin as observers looked onward at the three C-Sec members with keen interest.

Chellick, Pallin, and Garrus all quickly arrived on the scene via a reserved C-Sec Transit Shuttle, and approached the Emporium where the krogan mercenary had holed up. A few other C-Sec Officers patrolling the area had set up a perimeter, and observers and reporters were already quick on the scene as the crime unfolded.

"What do we know, exactly?" Pallin asked one of the C-Sec Officers already on the scene as he approached one of the blockades.

"Krogan mercenary targeted the gun shop owner for a hit. The owner used to run in the Blood Pack and we're guessing an old rival wanted revenge so he hired the mercenary to complete the job. Turned into a mess when the krogan shot the owner, but didn't kill him, so the customers were sent into a panic and we're guessing the Krogan panicked as well, and without thinking, locked both himself and the customers inside." Responded the Officer quickly and in a matter-of-fact tone.

Pallin stood directly behind the blockade, and pulled his pistol from its holster, before replying. "Well he's already lost his biggest element: surprise. Mercenaries are trained to kill from the shadows, and now he's in the spotlight."

"I'd be careful." Chellick offered. "We don't know how he's going to react to that. Krogan are savages, most are anyways. He could snap and start killing hostages if we make a move."

Garrus had his pistol at his side, held in his right hand. The truth was he was a bit nervous. Sure, he'd been in a firefight before, but this time there were civilian's lives hanging in the balance. What if the krogan grabbed a hostage, and made Garrus choose between stopping the krogan or saving the hostage? The thought of being placed in that sort of situation tensed him up, and he shifted his position, before looking to his superior. Remembering his training, his nerves were settled a bit, he was confident in his abilities.

Pallin turned to face Garrus and Chellick. "Well, Chellick." He started. "That's why 'we' are not going to take him head-on. You two are."

Chellick and Garrus looked at each other, confused by their superior's words.

Pallin pointed to an alley leading behind the emporium. The front windows to the weapon emporium were closed, so he felt safe making hand gestures knowing the krogan wasn't watching.

"See the alley over there? You and Garrus will sneak to the back door." He said, lowering his hand. "Listen in on your radios, set them to comm channel 1033, that way if that krogan has a radio he can't listen in on our frequency." He said, before taking a breath. "I'll attempt to negotiate with the krogan, but if things go sour, or he doesn't comply, you two are to move in and neutralize him. Do not aim to kill, and do not kill hostages. However, if the only way to eliminate the threat of the krogan is to kill him, you have my word to take the shot."

The situation was growing tense. More and more on-lookers showed up, one of them, a purple asari, was pleading that her batarian husband was inside. News reporters had stormed the area, giving the latest breaking news on the situation out to their respective news networks, fighting for ratings. Journalists had pulled out their computers, typing down the events as they happened with precision accuracy. If one of the C-Sec officers so much as stepped forward, the journalists described it in exact detail. Which foot, which direction, and predicted their next move.

Garrus was tense, but on the outside appeared calm and collected. Gun still in the palm of his now-sweaty hand, he swallowed before looking to Chellick. Chellick shot Garrus a silent look of anticipation. Pallin was speaking to a captain over at C-Sec Academy. After nodding his head and replying, he turned to Garrus and Chellick, before raising his gun so it was facing upwards.

"It's a go. Move out."

Garrus inhaled deeply, and then followed Chellick past the barriers and towards the ally. Reporters and journalists began either speaking into a camera or typing the events down. Garrus couldn't complain much. After all, he'd hoped to get out of his office and see some 'real action'. As they rounded into the alley, he brought his pistol up, ready to take out this krogan and save the civilians, despite all the factors that were playing into his mind.


	3. Trailing The Enemy

Vrack was at a loss for what to do. He had thought it would be simple hit, take the owner out and move on to the next job, but he had botched the hit so bad he ended up taking the whole gun shop, including the customers, hostage. The middle-aged krogan ran a hand over his face, unsure of what to do next.

Vrack was a large krogan, his red hide slowly starting to fade to a deep shade of brown with each passing year. Nearly 700 years old, he was starting to consider retirement from being a mercenary. The clanless krogan had once been a proud member of 'Urdnot', though he was exiled after killing another member in a fit of rage. Dishonorably, he was forced to flee Tuchanka seeing as no other clan, now aware of his actions, would even consider letting him join. His violent outbursts, coupled with his age, drove him toward being a mercenary as he got to do what he was best at; killing.

Soon after Vrack had taken everyone in the shop hostage, he took the owner, Rahla, to the back and finished his job, despite the fact that he now had an even worse situation to deal with. Rahla was an older turian, whose past had finally caught up with him. Vrack hadn't taken it easy on the turian either. A simple gunshot to the head was too quick, and now that Vrack had an even worse situation on his hands, he had a lot of anger that he took out on the turian before finishing the job with a shotgun blast to the chest. By the time he was dead, he was completely unrecognizable as a turian. His face was destroyed with bruises, cuts, bashed-in areas of his skull, and chunks of flesh ripped from his face. His mid-section was entirely blown in half, coating the walls with blood and gore. Vrack was one crazy, sick son of a bitch when he was pissed off.

There were five hostages total that Vrack had rounded up inside the emporium. Three were three Salarians, one turian, and one human. The human particularly, with his wanna-be badass attitude, attempted to take on the krogan. It didn't end well for the human, resulting in a broken arm, a shattered kneecap and likely multiple fractures to his skull. The other customers in the store were wisely less defiant to the krogan's demands, obeying quickly and without a word said. He was keeping them in the storage room to the right of his current position, so if anyone did come through the back, they would be unable to see them, instead greeted to the sight of an infuriated, unstable krogan.

Vrack hated humans, and the defiance of the one he'd neutralized only about ten minutes ago reminded him why. As far as he was concerned, all humans were arrogant morons, trying to force their place into the galaxy as a species higher above the others. Turians were no better, with their racist ranks running most of C-Sec, and their "we-know-everything-and-more" mindset only making them come off as idiotic jackasses. Vrack had absolutely no problem letting one stupid turian or human taint his opinion on the species as a whole.

Glancing out one of the windows, Vrack noted that the leader of the C-Sec Squad outside had positioned snipers on top of roofs on buildings opposite the Weapon Emporium. In addition, the two turians that were standing next to him were now nowhere to be found. Growing a bit apprehensive, and suspecting he had sent them to infiltrate the emporium, Vrack clutched his shotgun with a death grip, before turning to face the doorway leading to the back exit, waiting for anyone foolish enough to come charging in, telling him to drop his weapons and surrender.

Garrus and Chellick were now at the back of the Weapon Emporium, pistols at the ready. All that was stopping them from throwing a flash bang in and storming the place was the radio order from Pallin. Chellick was tense, but ready for anything. Garrus, on the other hand, while a bit nervous, was also becoming excited. This was the action he'd longed for, and once the nervousness of 'this is really happening' passed, he was ready.

The two glanced at one another, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. The anticipation was almost unbearable, but the two neglected to think that Pallin could call the infiltration attempt off, making their current thoughts entirely useless. Still, they were mentally aware and ready for anything. The seconds felt long though, but they refused to let their guard down.

"Garrus, Chellick, go! Move in!"

The order was barked over the radio quickly, and it took both Garrus and Chellick a moment to realize they had just been given the go-ahead. But once they were aware they now had their order, their C-Sec training kicked in. Garrus and Chellick took up opposite positions against the wall around the back door. Chellick held up his three fingers, and slowly counted down. Garrus removed one of his flash bang grenades, and as soon as Chellick lowered his last finger, he swiftly turned and kicked the door in. In quick succession, Garrus threw the grenade in. A few moments passed before a flash of white engulfed the back room, and the C-Sec Officers stormed in, guns ready to fire.

The turian duo quickly glanced around at the back room. A few shelves were stocked with boxes of either unused items or new items that were not currently on the shelves or gun racks yet. There was no opposition in this room, but through the open doorway stood a krogan, wearing an agitated expression on his face and wielding a shotgun. Garrus and Chellick quickly ran for the walls opposite the doorway for cover, but the krogan's trigger finger was quicker than their sprint forward. A shotgun blast tore a bit of the wall away, and hit Chellick. Luckily, his shields absorbed most of the impact from the shot, allowing him to safely reach cover.

Vrack growled when he saw the turian still alive, and proceeded to kneel behind the counter, aiming his shotgun above the makeshift cover and firing another blast blindly toward the doorway, tearing off a bit of the wall, this time on Garrus's side. The krogan would repeat this every ten seconds or so to keep the tension up and prevent them from attempting to enter the room.

Chellick stole a glance at Garrus after the krogan fired again. Neither one of them wanted to risk going into the room, but the krogan wouldn't stop until they were dead, or he could find a safe escape route. Garrus quickly gave a nod and pointed to himself, then the doorway. It was safer for him to risk it, Chellick's shields were already dangerously low and Garrus was the better aim of the two.

Chellick pulled out a flash bang grenade, and after a few seconds, tossed it into the main area of the emporium where Vrack was. The grenade moved quickly to the side of the counter opposite the krogan, and after a second of hesitation and silence, detonated. White consumed the room for a split second, and then normal color returned to the room, followed by Garrus charging into the area with his pistol aimed at the spot where Vrack was.

Vrack knew what the turians were doing. Being a mercenary, he could easily distinguish between a military-grade flash bang, and an explosive grenade. When he saw that it was a flash bang, he simply kept his head facing the opposite way, and as soon as he heard the flash bang detonate, took off to the storage room where the hostages were. He moved quickly, and reached the storage room just as Garrus entered the main room.

Garrus moved steadily toward the spot where he was sure the krogan was, but as he rounded the counter corner, he quickly discovered that he was gone. Chellick entered the room, and turned to face the storage entrance, only to see nothing there.

"What the hell-"Chellick started, but just as he had turned away from the storage room entrance, Vrack appeared. One arm held his shotgun, extended and aimed at the turians, the other was clenched around a salarian hostage's neck, using him as a human shield. Both of the turians raised their guns, ready to fire.

"Drop the hostage!" Chellick shouted in a commanding tone, training his aim directly on the krogan's head.

Vrack gave a small chuckle. "You must think I'm a damn fool." He retorted in a sarcastic yet threatening tone.

Garrus remained silent, but kept his gun on the krogan. He wanted to take the shot, he _knew_ he would hit the krogan in the head and kill him, but C-Sec Protocol clearly stated he was forbidden to shoot with a hostage in the way.

"Last chance, krogan! Drop the hostage!" Chellick shouted even louder.

This time Vrack didn't respond, but waited a few seconds and then fired his shotgun directly at Chellick. Chellick fell backwards, the shot completely obliterating what was left of his shields, and then nailing him in the upper right shoulder, sending him flying backwards onto the hard ground. The krogan quickly shoved the salarian forward and took off to the back of the storage room.

"Chellick!" Garrus shouted, quickly moving to the side of his fallen comrade. Chellick coughed, the shot had penetrated his armor, though Garrus couldn't tell how bad it was. Chellick raised his left arm, pointing to the storage room.

"Go!" He mustered, before falling back, unconscious. Garrus sighed, and then picked up his pistol, quickly moving into the storage room, giving chase to the krogan mercenary.

As Garrus entered the storage room, he looked around to see four hostages on the ground, all tied up except for one, a human. He was bruised, bloody, and unconscious. Garrus sighed, before looking up. The back exit to the storage room was open. If he hurried, he might still catch the krogan. He ran towards the back exit, the cries of the hostages densely muffled by the gags in their mouths.

Charging out of the exit, Garrus turned around and quickly surveyed the alley he was now in. At first, he saw nothing. Then, upon a second glance over his right shoulder, he saw the hump of a krogan moving through a crowd of people on a walkway. Garrus wasted no time, and resumed the chase, pistol in hand.

The walkway was unusually packed, but it wasn't without reason. A large celebration of the anniversary of the discovery of the Citadel was currently taking place. Several observers clogged the walkways, staring at the large vid screen that was currently playing a short about how the Citadel was founded

."The perfect way to disappear.!" Thought Vrack, before moving through the wave of observers, sure he was going to lose the C-Sec Officer. Virtually every species was here celebrating, though the asari easily outnumbered the others. Not without good reason as the asari were the first to discover the Citadel.

Garrus attempted to navigate his way through the mass of people, but it was simply too crowded. Swiftly, he managed to maneuver his way to a main aisle where people could move from one side of the celebration area to the other. He jumped aboard a piece of large railing, big enough for him to keep his balance on. He moved steadily, before reaching the end of the railing and scouting the area out. Confused observers remained silent as the turian placed one foot in front of the other, as if he was preparing to jump, his eyes scanning over the crowd of people. Then he saw the krogan.

Vrack was towards the back of the crowd, with nobody around him. Garrus seized the opportunity, and raised his pistol, firing three shots in the general direction of the krogan. However, he did so with one-hundred percent confidence in his aiming ability, certain there was no risk of harming any observers. As such, once he fired, the crowd of observers transformed into a sea of panic as everyone began running, in fear for their lives. Important attendees of the celebration followed, abandoning their seats and taking off running. Garrus saw the krogan panic, and he quickly jumped off the railing to give chase, landing perfectly on his two feet before hurrying after the mercenary.

Now that the sea of people was broken up, though still in a frenzy, he found it a tad easier to navigate through it. Just as he reached the spot where the krogan was, he spotted Vrack, running for his life. Garrus raised his pistol, and was a mere second away from pulling the trigger when he was suddenly tackled to the ground by the celebration's security.

One of the security guards, a turian, pried the pistol from Garrus's clutch. The other two held him firmly on the ground. Garrus somehow managed to shake them off, and he proceeded to stand up, pointing to his uniform in anger.

"I'm C-Sec!" He shouted. How could the guards have not seen the uniform he was wearing? He felt like cursing and insulting them, but managed to hold his turian security guard that had seized his pistol was now aiming it at him, but slowly lowered it. Garrus, now pissed off, snatched it back and turned, but the krogan mercenary was long gone. He sighed, and looked to the ground, placing his hands on his knees and frowning in disappointment.


	4. A Way Out

A few hours later, Garrus was sitting in his chair at his desk, turned around so he was facing Pallin, who was pacing in the room, arms folded over his chest. He definitely looked like he meant business. The expression on his face hinted at anger, and slight disappointment. He suddenly stopped, turning swiftly on his heel to face Garrus, extending his hand and pointing a finger at the turian C-Sec Officer.

"What the hell were you thinking, Garrus?" He shouted. His voice boomed through the small office, the words echoing into Garrus's head.

Garrus knew exactly what he had been thinking. He had been thinking that he would stop an unstable krogan from killing again. That was, until a certain small group of Citadel Celebration security guards thought it would be a good idea to tackle him to the ground, almost as if they were aiding the krogan on purpose. He'd already ruled that suspicion out with logic and a background check on them, though.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Garrus retorted, both confused and annoyed at his superior's words. It wasn't like he killed any civilians. He was trying to do something that would _save_ lives, not endanger them!

"Opening fire in a large crowd? Ruining a celebration *very* important to some species? Acting COMPLETELY out of line? Garrus, I ought to have your badge for this! What you did was not only insane, it was extremely dangerous!" Pallin yelled, throwing his arms into the air, still in disbelief an officer under his command would do something like this.

Garrus sighed, and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He brought a hand up and ran it over his head, frustrated. A headache was coming over him.

"Pallin, I wasn't trying to kill any civilians, you know that! I know how good my aim is, and I know you do too. I knew I could take out that damn krogan with my next shot, but then those two guards tackled me! What the hell was that about?" Garrus said, his last question turning into more of a shout, a question that needed answering. Normally, the turian didn't curse this much, but he was genuinely pissed off at what had happened.

Pallin sighed, and turned, leaning up against a wall before turning back and facing Garrus.

"They were novice guards brought in from all over. The asari didn't want C-Sec guards this year for some stupid diplomatic reason. So, we got imports from all over Citadel Space."

"That's still no excuse." Garrus said, slowly standing up from the chair. "Our uniform should be recognized by *everyone* who lives in Citadel Space." He responded, before shaking his head. Now, more civilians were in danger. A loose, unstable krogan mercenary was not to be taken lightly, yet instead of stationing officers at every major location on the Citadel, his superior was standing in front of him, lecturing him on the danger the citadel population was in. Sometimes, Garrus really did hate C-Sec and bureaucratic bullshit, though these feelings only returned in times like this, when he was being prevented from doing what he needed to do.

Pallin exhaled deeply. It was clear Garrus wasn't going to let this go, and he didn't have the time or the energy to sit here debating protocol with an under-ranking officer. He stepped forward.

"Okay, Garrus." Pallin began. "I'll let you off with a severe warning and a slap on the wrist this time. But the next time you fire your gun in public against a crowd of people, whether to attempt to save them or not, and whether your faith in your aim proceeds your concern for public safety, you _will_ _not_ be a part of C-Sec. Ever again."

Garrus showed no emotion, no reaction, to his superior officer's words. Though the truth was, they stung. As much as he complained, C-Sec was about making a difference, right? Hopefully one day he'd get to do that. Though, with all this protocol and 'standard procedure', he wasn't sure C-Sec was so much concerned with public safety as much as they are with impressing the council with their ability to abide by their own rules and regulations. Garrus sighed, and then pushed his chair into his desk. He exited the office, and headed toward the med clinic, he needed to check on Chellick.

As Garrus entered the Med Clinic, his thoughts were weighing him down. Though, that all was momentarily brought to a halt as he entered the room where his co-worker and friend was being kept. Lying on a small bed, Chellick was wide awake, beady green eyes fully alert, observing a blonde-haired female administer him pain killers. Chellick was quickly distracted from this when he noticed Garrus entering the room.

"Still alive?" Garrus asked in a joking manner. Chellick gave a small chuckle, quickly followed by a cringe as the motion from laughing had caused his bad shoulder to move. Garrus noticed this and widened his eyes.

"Sorry." He said in a blank tone.

Chellick shook his head, dismissing the minor sting. The doctor moved from the bed, and looked to Garrus, offering a smile. There was another female doctor on the room, though she was sitting on a stool, following the blonde-haired doctor with her eyes, extreme interest quite clearly evident.

"Don't mind her." The blonde haired doctor said as she picked up a datapad containing Chellick's information. "That's Dr. **Chloe Michel, a doctor-in-training." **

**Dr. Michel blushed a bit as she was brought to the spotlight for a moment, though she offered a smile to the two turians to make them aware she was indeed what the other doctor claimed she was. **

**A few moments passed, and the two doctors exited the room. Garrus moved to sit on the stool Dr. Michel had been using, glancing around the small area where Chellick was being kept. Chellick turned his head to face Garrus, a keen interest in his eyes, despite the pain he must be in.**

"**So, what happened exactly, after I went down? Pallin was here earlier, and he seemed pretty pissed, but he wouldn't tell me why." Chellick inquired, curious as to if Garrus had done something that went against all C-Sec Protocol, or if Pallin just had a stick up his ass about the krogan getting away.**

"I chased the krogan to and through the Citadel Founding Celebration, but then I lost him, so I jumped up onto some railing..." Garrus said, reciting the events as they had happened, still fresh in his mind. "Pulled my pistol up, and fired a few shots at the krogan. I missed, but nobody was hurt. I gave a small chase, then some inexperienced import-celebration guards tackled me, thought I was a maniac. By the time I got back up, the krogan was gone."

Garrus was less than thrilled about the krogan escaping, and the way he told Pallin, it was definitely evident in his tone. Pallin nodded, though a look of disappointment came over his face slowly.

"Ah well." He said. "You'll get that krogan bastard, I know you Garrus. That still doesn't explain why Pallin looked so angry though. Did you take your frustration out on the guards or something?"

Garrus smirked; the idea had definitely been entertained in his mind. Unfortunately, that was all the further the idea had gotten. Sighing, he shook his head, "Apparently firing a gun into a parade crowd, even if a killer krogan is within sight and you know you aren't hurting a civilian, is against protocol. He threatened my job, but I got away with a 'severe warning.'" Garrus lifted his fingers, quoting the last words he said in an impersonation of Pallin's anger.

Vrack was, once again, at a loss for what to do. As soon as he escaped the turian C-Sec Officer, he had gone directly into hiding. Well, not before laughing at what had happened to the C-Sec Officer. Tackled by other law enforcers. Ouch. That turian's ego must be bruised. Of course, the chase wasn't over yet. Vrack knew that extra C-Sec security would be placed at all the docks, so a ship off the Citadel was damn near out of question.

He had two options. One, he could stay here and wait it out. This was the safer option, but he ran the risk of the person who hired him disappearing before paying up. Then, Vrack would have a _personal_ chase across the galaxy to engage in, and a krogan aiming to retire soon certainly wasn't looking forward to that.

The krogan's only other option was to try and find someone who could sneak him off the Citadel, be it by a private shuttle, by claiming he was one of their crew, or by sticking a gun in their face and threatening their family if he didn't do exactly as he said. Personally, he would jump straight into the latter, but instinct told him he should offer credits first, then, if they don't comply, shove the barrel of a shotgun down their throat and demand whatever he may desire. At present: a ride off the Citadel.

Currently seated in a club a decent distance away from where he had been pursued by the turian, Vrack scouted the population of the club for anyone who might have a ship to get off the Citadel. Keeping his distance from a human bouncer on the far side of the club, though Vrack was sure that reports hadn't gone out to anyone below C-Sec yet about him, but he was sure there were reports of it being circulated on news networks.

Casually faking a yawn, the krogan stole a glance over his shoulder. At a far table sat two asari. Glancing over them, his gaze traveled from table to table until he spotted his first potential candidate (or victim). A human with long, greasy black hair reaching his mid back, dressed like a typical thug. The human wore a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, and light brown pants. Vrack smirked at the human's appearance. Pitiful. Perfect.

Vrack stood up, and after downing what was left of his alcoholic drink in his small glass, moved over to sit next to the human. As the krogan brought a chair up to sit at the table, the human slowly quirked an eyebrow, wary of the krogan already, though his tough-guy attitude kicked in, and his expression shifted to more of a 'badass' look.

"Ricky said I was supposed to meet an older volus here, not a damn krogan." The human said.

Vrack quickly analyzed the words the human said, and attempted to turn the conversation into his favor.

"The volus is sick. His suit had a hole in it. Ricky sent me instead."

The human hesitated, but ultimately relaxed, easing the tension. He nodded, and then pulled a small datapad from his pocket. Setting it onto the table, he would glance up at the krogan, eyes still had a bit of caution and doubt in them as he glanced over the krogan. He doubted that Ricky would send a well-armed krogan to a meeting about red sand.

"Alright." The human continued, "One pound of red sand…that comes to 1500 credits. Ricky said he sent you a vid mail clarifying it was one pound, not two. You got that, right?"

The krogan grunted, playing along with whatever scenario he had feigned himself into, though he was trying not to become confused with it. Carefully, he eased the idea of getting a ship off the Citadel into the conversation.

"Yeah, but I have a 'change of plans' of my own. Instead of getting the goods here, can we take it back to Tuchanka? I've got some krogan pals there who want some sand too, and I'm sure your ship would be able to handle a krogan."

The human shifted uncomfortably. Now the krogan was requesting to ride on _his_ ship back to the krogan homeworld? He wasn't an idiot, he knew krogans, most anyway, didn't think too highly of humans. It was practically asking for trouble to have a ship piloted by a human with drugs aboard land on the krogan homeworld.

"Errr, my ship is, full…" The human lied.

The krogan knew the human was lying, evident from the uncomfortable shift of position and the way he was beginning to stumble his own words. But, luckily enough, the krogan had successfully accused the human of having a ship, and been correct. Years of reading people's actions, and predicting who they are and what they had from just how they looked was starting to pay off. The hard work was done, and even though the human had refused him access through sheer free will, Vrack would change that easily outside.

Following up on his act, the krogan growled at the human, causing him to widen his eyes. "You bastard, all you humans are scum! Morons!" Vrack shouted across the table, though he was sure half the club could hear him, even above the blasting music.

The human was taken aback for a moment, and then threw on an aggressive face. "Let's take this outside, you alien reptile-lookin' piece of shit!"

Ha. The human had fallen right into the krogan's trap.

Grunting, Vrack turned and headed for the entrance. The human hesitated, but followed, though in his mind he was panicking. He'd never fought a krogan before!

As Vrack led the human out of the club and into a back alley, the human snapped. Throwing caution to the wind, he pulled a pistol from his waistband and aimed it at the krogan. Vrack, almost anticipating this foolish move, turned quickly, and with one arm secured around the human's wrist, twisted it with such power that the gun slipped to the ground and the human's forearm snapped. Eyes widening in terror, the human looked at his now-broken arm, bending entirely opposite the way it should, though no bone pierced the skin. The krogan then shoved the human to the ground, and pulled his shotgun out from the holster on his back. Just as it finished unfolding, it was mere inches from the human's mouth.

"Now, you're getting me out of here on your ship. Understood?" The krogan asked in a demanding tone.

Despite the fact he'd already injured the human, intimidation still played a big part in this 'negotiation', which, if not going the way Vrack wanted, would end in the human's brains painting the walls of the alley. A broken arm was easy to dress up as being fine, so he hadn't done any real noticeable damage to the human…yet.

A few moments passed, and the human hadn't given an answer, struck with fear, eyes trained on the gun barrel in his face. Growing impatient, Vrack kicked the human in the stomach. The human grunted, and then finally spoke.

"Oh…okay." The human mustered. "I'll do it. J-just don't kill me!"

He was sweating profusely, some of his hair smeared across his forehead. His breathing was heavy and his stomach was weak. He felt like he'd puke any moment. Clearly in fear for his life, the human, after answering, held his breath as his gaze was fixated on the barrel of the shotgun.

The weight of the world was lifted as the krogan eventually took the gun and pressed a button on the side of it, causing it to fold back up. He placed it into the holster on his back, and stared at the human who was slumped against the wall, sitting down.

"Alright, get your ass up, human. We're heading for the docking bay."


	5. Final Confrontation

Vrack followed the human as they made their way toward the civilian and traveler docking bay where the human's ship was. The krogan had put the human in a large shirt, and a glove on his injured hand, giving the illusion the human was in perfect health, though those the layer of sweat on his face, coupled with his nervous walk and constant glances over his shoulder at the krogan, hinted otherwise.

Vrack knew the human felt threatened, and he chose only to exploit this further. After the encounter in the alley, the krogan had led the human to a Citadel store to buy him a large shirt, and then proceeded to remind the human that if he tried anything, a shotgun blast would destroy most of his internal organs. The human was practically cowering in fear when Vrack had said this, the 'badass' act had been entirely dropped by the human.

As they walked through the crowd of people, nearing the docking bay elevator, Vrack began to contemplate what his next move would be once he was off the Citadel. He would definitely seek out the man who had hired him to kill the weapon emporium owner, but then what? Retirement was most likely, though he had to admit to himself, a large part of him still liked this. The thrill of killing, the fun of being a public target, the rush of placing a gun against someone's skull and controlling their fate. He thrived in danger, and killing was his drug of choice. That, and the occasional usage of red sand, though the krogan hadn't dabbled too much into illegal substances.

The human came to a stop in front of a large elevator leading up to the docking bay. Hands shaking, the human extended his good arm, pressing the touch-sensitive call button, and within a few moments, the doors opened to the elevator. Grunting, the krogan gave the human a 'slight' nudge inside, resulting in the human falling to the floor of the elevator.

"Get your ass up." Vrack ordered.

An on-looking asari outside the elevator took note of this, shooting Vrack a concerned, 'what are you doing?' face. Vrack blinked.

"Mind your own damn business!" He shouted.

With a sigh, the asari turned and began walking in the opposite direction, clearly becoming uneasy at the sight of the krogan treating the human like a piece of garbage.

Vrack could care less what anyone thought of him, though he did realize his mistake as the elevator slowly rose to the docking bay. There was a chance the asari would report his description to C-Sec, and he would be caught by the time he could get through security for exiting civilians. Luckily, the human's ship was close to the exit, so as soon as they passed security he could waste the human and, after collecting a fat payment of credits(he fully intended to charge the turian who had hired him interest), heading back to Tuchanka for some downtime.

As the elevator doors opened, the human, whose entire body was almost shaking in fear, stepped out. The line to get through security was moderately full, and Vrack sighed. He could try to move ahead of everyone, but that would likely cause a scene, inevitably only delaying him further from his departure. With a deep inhale, he and the human moved to the back of the line.

Garrus was seated at his desk, clearly distracted. Though he was instructed to complete his late report, the only occasional sign he was getting any further toward that instructed order was the occasional finger moving across his keyboard, typing a few letters. His mind was distracted with the thought of the escaped krogan, and how he was dangerously close to losing his job in only his first year.

Hell, why didn't he just quit? Walk out right now? After all, he was almost certain that C-Sec was slowly and slowly becoming less of a police force and more of a government agency of sorts. Why should protocol dictate when he can fire a gun on someone who has taken hostages? If Garrus had to kill one civilian to stop a killer from killing a hundred more over three years, as much as he hated it, he would do it.

Though sometimes his own logic didn't make sense to him, C-Sec's rules were an entirely different subject. The rules weren't confusing, but when strung together, they were almost contradicting one another. Pallin had informed Garrus that C-Sec Headquarters were in the process of a rulebook revision, though knowing the speed at which they got deskwork done; it'd likely be 6 months before any rule even had a letter altered.

Suddenly, an icon popped up on his holo-screen, indicating a new message had arrived. Now with good reason to be momentarily distracted from his work, he quickly brought up his inbox, clicking on the new message. It read:

'From: Pallin, Venari (.net )

To: Vakarian, Garrus (.net)

Subject: Lead On Krogan?

Message:

Garrus, a C-Sec Officer near Citizen Docking Bay 113 got a report of a krogan matching the description of the one who'd taken the hostages at the emporium, but there are a lot of krogan that fit that description. It was reported by an asari who saw the krogan shoving a human around. If you're looking for an excuse to leave your deskwork, this is it. But remember, you still have to finish the report by 10:00 tomorrow, or it's your ass.'

As soon as Garrus had finished reading the message, he'd quickly turn off the holo-screen on his computer, and exit his work area, knowing his next destination.

By the time Vrack and the human had reached the front of the line to be checked by security, a good twenty or so minutes had to have passed. Growing more and more sick of the Citadel with each passing second, Vrack was, needless to say, ready to go through the security check.

"Right this way." The human C-Sec Officer directed them, the doors to a small room opening. There was another door opposite the entrance, and a turian C-Sec Guard standing on the other side of the room in front of a small terminal.

Vrack and the human stepped in, and moved to the other side.

"Sorry for the inconvenience." The turian said, apologizing for the scan that was currently taking place. The scanners passed over the krogan without an issue, but as soon as they passed over the human, a buzzer rang out, detecting an unauthorized weapon of some sort on the human.

The buzzer quickly alerted the human, and in a swift movement, he reached his good hand down into his boot, pulling a large, sharp knife from it. He turned and pointed it at the krogan, backing into a corner as he did so. Seeing this, the turian C-Sec Officer quickly pulled out his pistol, aiming it at the human.

"Drop the weapon!" The Officer ordered, but the words were given a deaf ear by the human. All the human could focus on was the krogan. The savage beast that had snapped his wrist and then attempted to use him to escape the Citadel, and was now attempting to steal his ship. The human might be cowering, but he wasn't stupid. He knew the krogan planned to get rid of him as soon as he had access to a ship.

"He's using me!" The human shouted in a panic. "He's gonna try to kill me!"

Vrack quickly feigned innocence, shooting the turian C-Sec Officer an odd glance. The turian officer returned it momentarily, before his gaze quickly returned to the obviously unstable human.

"Drop. The. Blade." The Officer said in a cold, demanding tone, clearly ready to fire his weapon at the human if he so much as took a slight step forward at either the krogan or the turian.

The human had had it. The blade tightly gripped in his hand, he charged at the krogan, ready to exact his revenge. As he stepped forward, several shots rang out, and the human saw a flash of white. An intense amount of pain shot up his right side, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

The turian had fired three well-placed shots into the human's right side, effectively eliminating the threat. Pleased with his work, he slowly lowered his pistol.

Mistake.

Now was Vrack's chance to get off the Citadel. Without the human's ship identification, he had no way of accessing the ship. It would be extremely suspicious for Vrack to take the human's ship ID verification from his corpse and attempt to use it as his own. Of course, the krogan could've said he was family, or a friend, but then he would be dragged out for a statement, and then asked why his friend/family member pulled a blade on him. Too much time.

There was a simpler, faster way.

Quickly, the krogan pulled out his shotgun from its holster, and just as it finished unfolding, Vrack fired a shot dead square into the turian's chest at point-blank range. The turian had no idea what had hit him. Falling backwards, dead, the turian's blood was slung across the wall, giving the dull gray a shower of red liquid over it.

The widespread panic began as everyone in the line, waiting for the security check began screaming, running, or both.

Garrus reached docking bay 113 as soon as he could. Of course, it was likely that the krogan that the asari had reported was an average civilian. After all, the krogan were a _very_ violent species, and it was most likely that the altercation with the human was simply a small scrap, nothing more.

As Garrus advanced toward the security line, he began scouting the people in it, looking for the krogan. There was no doubt in his mind; he remembered the krogan's appearance right down to every scar on his face. A darkening brown hide, with the chin and neck of the krogan being a light yellow, a scar running from his lip down to his chin, red, beady eyes that were full of hatred… Garrus knew exactly what he was looking for.

Scouting the crowd, Garrus was quickly drawn to gunfire from the scanning room. Garrus's hand shot to his pistol, ready to pull it from its holster if there was any more. Slowly, he looked into the scanning room, and was horrified to see a dead human, and the krogan he'd been after. Drawing his pistol, Garrus ran forward, but he was too late. The krogan drew his shotgun, and blew away the turian C-Sec guard with ease.

Now with the people in a panic, Garrus attempted to maneuver through them to reach the scanning area. The whole event reminded him of the first chase he'd given to the krogan, through the celebration. He wasn't making the same mistake twice, and this time, there weren't any inexperienced guards around to save the krogan.

Garrus quickly pitted himself against a wall outside of the scanning room. Slowly, he peeked in to see the krogan exiting through the other side, a ship ID in hand."Damn." Garrus said under his breath. The ship ID would let him onto the human ship. Older ships still scanned ID's, though newer ones had face and voice recognition technology built directly in.

Garrus rounded the corner, pistol aimed. He followed after the krogan, but not before giving the human's corpse a sympathetic expression. "Poor guy.." Garrus thought, before re-focusing on his current pursuit, and sprinting out of the scanning area.

As he rounded the corner, the end of a shotgun was slammed into the side of his head. The doors to the scanning area snapped shut in a C-Sec Safety Lockdown. Garrus glanced up, vision blurred, but he made out the form of the krogan standing over him, shotgun in hand. Still holding the pistol in his hand, Garrus quickly attempted to raise it and shoot the krogan, but his attempt was foiled as the krogan brought a foot down onto his wrist, pinning it down. Garrus cried out a bit, the krogan's foot easily weighing enough to crush his entire wrist, though he didn't.

The area they were now in was just outside of the ship port, a sort of observation area. There were crates stacked high with ship parts, salvaged materials from destroyed ships, and several work benches. Mechanics often frequented this area to get materials for ship repair.

"Ha! Now what, Mr. C-Sec?" The krogan asked, mocking Garrus. Garrus had to think of something, fast. Either he was going to be killed, or his wrist was going to snap, rendering him useless in combat. The pistol had slipped from his hand, so he could go for it with his left hand, but the krogan was pretty much guaranteed to put the weight of his foot down onto Garrus's wrist, likely breaking it.

Next to Garrus was a pile of crates, stacked taller than the krogan. It would provide a minimal distraction, and one of two things was guaranteed to happen. The krogan would step back, avoiding the fall, or stay put, getting hit by the crates full of ship parts. Garrus had to go for it, it was his only chance. If the krogan stayed put, he would go for his pistol.

Quickly reaching his left hand over, he pushed the bottom crate away from him so that the ones on top of it fell towards and down onto the krogan. Garrus cried out in pain as Vrack caught on to what he was doing, and applied more pressure to Garrus's wrist. However, the pain and tension was brought to a halt as Vrack backed off, avoiding the falling crates.

Garrus's wrist was hurting, but he had to seize the opportunity. Springing up, he grabbed his pistol with his left hand and moved out of the way just as the crates hit the floor. Garrus dove for cover behind a wall sticking out from the scanning room, taking a moment to catch his breath.

Vrack was now very pissed off. No more screwing around, he was going to kill this damn turian! Charging forward, shotgun in hand, the krogan screamed out as he headed for the wall where Garrus was, planning to take out the wall _and_ Garrus in the same charge.

Garrus had anticipated this. Once a krogan was tired of screwing around, they either charged or walked away. This particular krogan took the more obvious, and more expected, action. Garrus carefully waited a few moments, and then dove out of the way of the krogan. The krogan had known there was a wall, and had planned to smash through it. What he didn't know, was there was another wall behind that, only much thicker. The krogan hit the other wall with extreme force, causing his head to smash directly into it. Blood stained the wall, the krogan spit out several teeth as he fell to the ground, and his head plate had a large dent in it, likely resulting in a fractured skull.

Despite all the pain, the krogan still attempted to lift his shotgun to kill Garrus. However, his vision was blurred with blood and pain, causing it to distort his target. Garrus raised his pistol, and fired. The krogan dropped the shotgun as the shot cleanly ripped through his hand. Grunting in pain, the Krogan slowly eased himself up so he was standing, to face Garrus.

"What are you waiting for?" The krogan asked, spitting out blood onto the floor, before looking up to the turian. The krogan was breathing heavily, and through pure instinct, could tell he was near death. His skull fracture was serious, and he knew he wasn't getting to a doctor any time soon.

As much as Garrus might have wanted to shoot the krogan, he didn't. He lowered his pistol, and shook his head. "You are hereby placed under arrest by Citadel Security." Garrus started, but he was interrupted before he could inform the krogan of his rights.

"No." Would be all the krogan said. Vrack took a few steps toward the railing that prevented people from falling off the side, down into space, dying. He glanced over, before turning back to Garrus.

"I'll die before I face the charges of my crimes." He said, before raising his foot, and in a last ditch effort, kicked a piece of the railing off, sending it flying down below. Garrus knew the krogan was trying to escape his crimes by any means, even if it meant suicide. However, it was not in the C-Sec Officer's plan to let this krogan commit suicide, as he saw it as getting out easy.

"You have one chance to back away." Garrus said, raising his pistol. If he shot the krogan in the skull in his weakened state, in the fractured area, it would likely kill him. His shields were still up on his armor, so Garrus was limited on where he could immobilize the krogan.

"And if I don't?" The krogan asked in a cold tone.

Quickly, in a swift movement, Garrus pulled a grenade from his belt and threw it forward. The circular grenade spun until it stuck to the ground directly In front of the krogan's feet.

"Ha. See you in hell." The krogan said, before closing his eyes, ready to face death. In his mind, dying was easier than going to prison. It wasn't that he couldn't defend himself, but he wasn't about to spend his retirement years behind a glass plate.

A moment of pure silence passed, and the grenade detonated. However, as it went off it was quickly made evident that the grenade was a flash bang, and not what the krogan had thought; an explosive. With the blood dripping onto his face and the skull fracture distorting his vision, he had mistakenly thought it was an explosive grenade.

Garrus smirked, and then moved forward quickly, pulling out a pair of cuffs. He managed to get behind the krogan, and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing the temporarily blind krogan to fall forward. Despite a sprained wrist, Garrus was able to get the krogan's hands behind his back by applying a bit of pressure to the krogan's skull, before, securely cuffing the krogan's limbs.

Several C-Sec officers emerged from the scanning room, pistols aimed. Pallin was among them, obviously having heard of the commotion going on. Garrus didn't doubt it wasn't already being broadcast over several news networks. Pallin, along with the others, slowly lowered his weapon and gave a small smirk, impressed with Garrus's work.

"Where were you ten minutes ago?" Garrus asked, before flashing a small smile.

"You were on thin ice, Vakarian. But I'd say you've redeemed yourself with this." Pallin said, before holstering his pistol and moving forward. "Are you hurt?"

Garrus glanced down at his wrist. It was bruised, and it ached, but it wasn't broken. He shook his head. "Nothing serious, some ice'll help out."

Pallin pulled Vrack up, and placed an order for an escort transit shuttle. Garrus exited the area, walking through the scanning area and then back towards C-Sec Academy. He chuckled to himself. A fight with a vicious krogan, coming within inches of death, and he was walking away with a sprained wrist. He was still in disbelief.

As Garrus maneuvered his way through the people inhabiting the Citadel, he took a moment to think about his job, and what he'd accomplished so far. Taking down the krogan was easily the most action he'd seen yet, and he was damn proud of single-handedly doing it. Literally, single-handedly as his wrist was going to take a bit to heal. "Ah well," He thought. "No big deal." After all, the only thing he had to look forward to tomorrow was desk work.


	6. Epilogue

Over the next three years, Garrus became more and more fed up with C-Sec. The rule and protocol revision that he had been told about by Pallin actually resulted in _more _restrictions on what officers could and couldn't do to witnesses, suspects, and citizens. Garrus was inclined to make a difference and combat crime, but with Pallin becoming more and more focused on impressing the council with crime reports and charts that seemed to show crime was decreasing (but in reality, It was increasing on the wards, the charts were only relatively compared to the likes of areas of the Citadel with lower crime rates than the wards), Garrus was frustrated with himself and C-Sec.

After Garrus had stopped Vrack (which would later on become the biggest arrest, and ultimately, highlight, of his C-Sec career), he was confined to desk work for two straight months. Pallin had praised him for taking the krogan alive, but continued to attempt to correct Garrus on just about everything else. Somehow, Pallin had persuaded Chellick into believing the protocol was for the better good, and Garrus slowly drifted away from his long time friend.

Refusing to give into believing that he should stop and try to remember 'Section XI: Standard Weapon Usage Guides' from the C-Sec Codex and Guide, Garrus had seen exactly two firefights over the next three years with C-Sec. It wasn't the violence that Garrus was craving, it was the feeling that he knew he was making a difference. After all, it was hard for him to believe a daily report summarizing the happenings on the wards was protecting the citizen three kilometers away from being blown away by a mentally insane human. It just didn't add up in Garrus's mind.

After protocol had stopped him from stopping a criminal known as Dr. Saleon, Garrus was heavily considering leaving C-Sec for another law enforcement job on another planet, or even in another system. The job was definitely taking its toll on him, and the added stress of not being able to shoot a criminal who had a hostage because of regulations bullshit was driving him insane.

But all this changed when a turian spectre went rogue, and Garrus met a certain Commander who would take him into his crew….


End file.
